9.12.2012

end of summer...

Finally, some film back, after a little silence here on the blog. Fall is creeping in, with a noticeable difference in the evening light. The mornings are cooler, and there's been a dewy frost on the grass. I love this in-between time. All I want to do is shop for sweaters and leather boots, drink hot apple cider and bake the weekends away.

Last weekend I went to the local farmer's market in our new hometown. I hadn't been to this one before and it was amazing. So much less congested than the larger one in a nearby town. No tourists, no produce that was clearly not grown in Ontario (pineapple? really?). I picked up some of the last of this Summer's berry harvest and got to work freezing them for Fall smoothies. I wish I knew how to can things though. I feel like it might be easier than I think, but I kind of want to learn from someone who's experienced, or take a little preserving class. A Summer goal for next year I suppose.

I'm looking forward to Fall and trying to cook more with the season. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Visiting the farmer's market each week and cooking with what's available. Cozy, home-cooked meals. Keeping the basics on-hand like olive oil, rice, barley, beans, and quinoa. I have plans for organizing our pantry this weekend with everything labelled in tidy glass jars. You know, amongst designing, printing and trimming all our wedding stationery, finishing the seating arrangement, and making a day-of schedule, lol. No problem, right?

18 comments:

Lovely shots. I'm loving this time of year, too. I really want to do some baking with apples, but I have a hard time finding really good apples that don't cost a fortune. You are going to be so glad that you froze those beautiful fruits when you are drinking them in your smoothies!

I always enjoy your photography. It is simple, elegant, and very artistic! I like the idea of using glass jars to organize your pantry! My kitchen is due for a re-vamp pretty soon. Have fun with the wedding planning!

Oh man, I totally hear you on your sketchy-farmer's-market criticisms. I hate it when there's tons of produce from out of province and country for sale. Just defeats the whole purpose.

In a similar line of sketchiness - there's a fairly large Mennonite community near where I live (also in Ontario), and they're known for being baking superstars. Apparently, at one market near my house, people are specifically recruiting Mennonite women to man their stalls, in order to make their products look more authentic or something. Haha! What a world we live in!

PS - Canning really is easy as heck, albeit time consuming. I recommend a book called The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. Especially since there will just be two of you, the recipes are scaled down nicely.